Comprehensive Guide to Project Management Terminology
Stay ahead of the game with our comprehensive collection of project management terms. Aside from offering a guided tour through the essentials, we’ve incorporated hyperlinks to delve deeper into selected topics via informative videos and analytical articles. Our aim is to equip you with a practical understanding of these key concepts which can be readily applied to your project management endeavors.
Given the constantly evolving nature of project management, we keep this resource regularly updated. For terms that might be missing, feel free to tweet @ProjectTips using the hashtag #PMGlossary and we’d be happy to oblige.
Over 100 Definitive Project Management Terms
Find below an exhaustive list of project management terms arranged in alphabetical order for your convenience.
A–E Terms
Acceptance Criteria: Predefined requirements used to measure the success of a project. Whether at the task, user story, or overall project level, these criteria must be met before the project can be deemed complete.
Agile: Agile is a methodology employed for project and product management, generally for delivering software projects in an iterative way using “sprints” – short bursts of work. Initially designed for IT and engineering projects, Agile has since been successfully applied to various industries like marketing. Agile (with a small “a”) now refers to the broad business approach to support a flexible working style with quick turnaround.
Expore our extensive resources on Agile planning and management.
Arrow Diagramming Method: A technique used to represent the start and end of project activities using arrows to assist in the scheduling during the project planning phase.
Devin Deen explains the use of Activity on the Arrow to chart the critical path in this video.
Backlog: Originating from the Agile methodology Scrum, backlog is used across industries to track everything that’s needed to complete a product in development. It is also used to capture modification requests to ensure delivery within scope.
F–J Terms
Feasibility Study: A tool used to verify if the proposed plan or methodology is practical and capable of meeting the project’s goals.
Gantt Chart: Gantt charts are horizontal bar charts that illustrate a project’s schedule. Named after Henry Gantt, it’s used in the planning phase of long-term projects with many task dependencies.
Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to Gantt Charts.
Hybrid Methodology: Drawing from the strengths of Agile and Waterfall project management methods (and others), hybrid methodologies enable teams to apply different strategies where needed or suit varying teams within an organization.
Learn more about how teams can utilize hybrid methodologies.
K–O Terms
Kanban: Literally translating to “signboard” in Japanese, Kanban is a scheduling system developed for lean and just-in-time production. It’s now commonly employed as a visual task-tracking tool.
Learn how Kanban and Scrum differ in the blog Kanban vs Scrum: Which is Better?
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Quantifiable metrics used to evaluate a project and determine how it’s performing according to the plan. KPIs can be anything from cost to time, scope, or quality.
P–T Terms
Project management: An applied discipline that covers the planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling of resources to achieve specific goals. It focuses on temporary projects designed to create a product or service, and thus is constrained by deadlines and budgets. Visit Qamodo’s Project Management section for more information.
Project Management Office (PMO): The person or group within an organization responsible for maintaining project process standards.
Risk management: A project-focused method designed to reduce the risk by proactively identifying potential risks. These risks are plotted in a register document or in a project management tool, monitored throughout the project.
U–Z Terms
Workload management: This process aims to manage assigned tasks in tandem with the overall workload of a team. It covers the engagement of individual workload allocation as well as allocation across all projects.
Conclusion
We hope this comprehensive list proves valuable for you in your project management efforts. Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to cover terms from U, V, Y, and Z in this revision. Feel free to suggest any additions via Twitter @ProjectTips using the hashtag #PMGlossary.
Ready to apply your newfound knowledge? Qamodo’s user-friendly platform offers the features you need to manage any project, regardless of its size, whether it’s Agile or Waterfall or any other method. Give it a spin with a free 30-day trial and discover how our project management tool can benefit you.
The brilliance of project management lies in its dynamism. As the field evolves, so too does the language of project management. By familiarizing themselves with these terms, project managers can effectively communicate and collaborate with team members, stakeholders, and clients.
In the spirit of constant improvement, we welcome suggestions for terms that might have been omitted from our list. Stay tuned for updates and additions to our Project Management Terminology page, ensuring that you always have the latest lingo at your fingertips!
References
Tasks: https://qamodo.com/features/tasks-goals/
Gantt & Kanban: https://qamodo.com/features/gantt-kanban/
Project Management: https://qamodo.com/solutions/project-management/
Clients: https://qamodo.com/solutions/client-relations/
